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msnbc.com's Carrie Dann
msnbc.com's Carrie Dann
Tea Party activists gather in the shadow of the Capitol to urge budget cuts.
From msnbc.com's Carrie Dann
As budget negotiations continued inside the halls of Congress Thursday, a gathering of Tea Party activists huddled at a cold outdoor rally on Capitol Hill to send a message to the deal-makers inside:
They're ready to pick a fight.
A few hundred people -- far fewer than the massive rallies seen before last year's midterm elections -- who braved the dreary weather urged lawmakers to push deep cuts to the federal budget even if it results in a temporary shuttering of the government, chanting "Cut it or shut it!" and punctuating cheers with calls to "shut it down!"
"If Harry Reid wants a fight, let's give it to him!" said Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), one of a parade of conservative lawmakers who made remarks at the event sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots.
Many of the rally's speakers were careful to note that Democrats are "rooting" for a shutdown and that GOP budget-cutters hope to avoid a funding lapse that would turn off the government's lights.
Democratic leaders "want to turn you into their scapegoats and blame the Tea Party for shutting the government down," said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).
Rep. Allen West (R-FL) declared, "We are not here to talk about shutting the government down... But if you want to talk about shutting down the government, go over there and talk to Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid and the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!"
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) told reporters after his brief remarks to the crowd that a federal closure is undesirable but would not be catastrophic.
"No Republican wants to shut the government down. I don't think anybody here really wants a shutdown," DeMint said, "but we shouldn't be so afraid of a shutdown that we can't make the right decisions right now." He added, "We can't be cowed by this threat."
The preemptive finger-pointing over a potential shutdown likely stems from the scars of the budget fights of the mid-1990s, when the public soured on GOP leaders in the wake of a series of federal closings.
A full federal closure "is not going to be very popular with the American people," warned Clinton-adviser-turned-conservative-commentator Dick Morris, who instead suggested a "targeted shutdown" of agencies -- like the EPA and the National Labor Relations Board -- that are loathed by Tea Party activists.
"We don't have to close down the government. We're going to close down the parts of the government we can't stand!" Morris said.
That sentiment was met with cheers -- as well as a smattering of shouts to "shut it down!"
*** UPDATE *** Here's a dispatch from NBC's Catherine Chomiak:
As the continuing resolution currently funding the government inches closer to its expiration date of April 8, Tea Party activists rallied today for a budget battle. Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Mike Pence (R-IN), Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) fired up the crowd on a dreary day in Washington, D.C., with calls for a fight and threats of a government shutdown.
Congressman Pence, citing the current deficit, debt, and “defiant liberal majority in the Senate” said the time was right “to pick a fight."
“The debt stops here,” he said. “If liberals in the Senate would rather play political games and shut down the government instead of making a small down payment on fiscal discipline and reform, I say, 'Shut it down.'”
Representative and potential Republican presidential candidate Bachmann hit Democrats saying they are hoping for a government shut down. “That’s their plan," Bachmann said. "They want to shut the government down, and they want to turn you into their scapegoat and say, 'It’s the Tea Party’s fault for shutting the government down.'"
Paul urged the Tea Party members to keep up their political involvement. “The fight is just beginning,” he vowed. “Keep their feet to the fire, call them, email them, let them know that you are prepared for America to move forward, but only by balancing the budget and making government smaller.”
In addition to a fight on the budget, King showed support for his fellow House Republican saying, “We need to fight on Mike Pence’s proposal on unfunding (sic) Planned Parenthood… And we need to fight on cutting off the funding that implements Obamacare.”
Bachmann also got loud cheers from the crowd when she proposed sending “a change of address form to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”
This is something Bachmann has said before and will probably be said again, as she continues to consider a 2012 presidential bid.
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Do you know that some right wing run state governments are trying to control the emails of scientists who are doing climate change research? You are deregulation lovers so stop regulating Science. That is criminal. They are trying to creep into our schools and reverse Science education to what they want to be taught. This is totally Communist!!!
It's lucky you aren't too bright.... you'd be dangerous if you were intelligent.
great response mike, you must have the one right wing brain for the day
The Tea Party is right, the only way to turn the democratic jackass around is to get out of the saddle and hit it between the eyes with a two by four.
At what point do these tea baggers form an allegiance with Al-Quaeda to try to overthrow this country? I am a Republican - these disenfranchised idiots are not me. They are Un-American to the core and they know they are.
The republicans are guilty of sedition; the tea party is guilty of treason.
The Democrats are ruining the country because they cannot master basic math......their stupidity has put us in this fiscal mess and the Tea Party is the only group with the guts to shine a harsh light on these reckless morons. If the budget cuts are not enough.....SHUT it down!
I love when a right winger calls the educated class stupid. I mean the elite class. I forgot that elite now means educated. Only a moron would want our government shut down. Brilliant
Polls show that independent voters are getting fed up with these so-called tea party no-nothings. They offer no solutions, other than nickel and diming middle class programs. They'll mostly be gone in the next election cycle. The public won't be fooled again.
Gee I see there's still nothing but a bunch uncivilized Demo-Republo-Rats hanging out in here this morning.... I know I've asked before but "when" will ALL US REAL Americans stuck HERE in the MIDDLE going to rise up and drag both these Left & Right Wing Wacko's in America, out the back door and off to the "wood shed"?
Because MOST of US don't accept either of YOUR positions ANY LONGER and WE have grown tired of listening to YOU! Nor are WE willing to allow YOU to "Blame" each other once again so that neither side is ever "Wrong". This isn't about you FRINGE Loonies, it is about America and what you both have been doing to US for that last 50 years.
It's time for the Militant Middle to start SHOUTING YOU DOWN! Do any of you "puppets" have any SHAME for what you have done to US in OUR Name? I bet your Momma's are REALLY PROUD of All of YOU POTTY MOUTHED "RATS"!
Walker Pelosi Reid or Boner they are ALL "Demo-Republo-Rats" and after 50 years only a FOOL can't see that JUST as clear as the nose (snouts) on YOUR faces.
Wake up America STOP voting for these same "RAT" Party followers over and over again because you WON'T get ANY different results than we have gotten BEFORE …. EVER! Now we need to REALLY GO EXTREME on them! Even if the Middle has to drag the left & right, kicking & screaming along with US!
So America hold your nose.....Register as a Republo-Rat......and.......
Vote Paul/Nader 2012 Investigate/Prosecute/Incarcerate the new Robber Barons and all of their RAT Minions both Left & Right!
Very interesting, a militant middle. Why not? We need a platform. Any Ideas?
I can't wait to shut down the goverment and hear the illegals, the blacks, and other parasites on our country scream. This is going to be good.
So, Frank, you're saying blacks are parasites? I admire you honesty, if not your logic. It's always refreshing to hear a racist Proudly proclaim his feelings.
Roper....Racist scapegoating....you'd feel comfortable owning people.
Look who is talking....just because you don´t like what chris has to say, you insult him. Are you an advocate of the t-party? Very nice promotion! very intelligent! :-)
Dumb tea-baggers just don't get it. It takes LOTS OF MONEY to shut down the govt and then bring it back on line. Money spent for which there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GOTTEN IN RETURN. What a waste, when they claim the opposite. Idiots!
It just figures, doesn't it?
People who carry signs that say "Hands off our Social Security" and "No government control of Medicare" are chanting to shut the government down? And the people who speak to them are actually the ones who are proposing cuts in Social Security and Medicare?
Really? Seriously?
Are these people really so stupid that they don't realize Social Security and Medicare are, in fact, government programs?
Or, are they simply stupid enough to just go and do whatever an idiot like Glenn Beck tells them to do?
Either way you go, there were some really not-very-bright people out there in the cold!
Yes, to all of the above.
Nice to see it documented on camera who is for "shutting down the government". Yet, at the same time Boener is on camera saying it is the Dems who are tying to shut it down. Typical repub, talking out of his mouth and his @$$ at the same time. Those guys can never get a story straight.
These fascists are on their way out. Got news this morning that the first recall is now in process on Dan Kapanke in Wisconsin.
Trump screaming "birther" arguments, tax advice and whatever will get him attention. Limbaugh, Beck, Palin,,, constantly yelling and acting bazaar with their aggressive appeals to emotions. Boehner, McConnell, Kyl,,, finding fault, making accusations but never offering anything constructive. The Tea Party being 'puppets' for the strong and powerful ultra-conservative block. And even G.W. Bush now giving advise about not pulling out of Afghanistan too quickly - now there is really a lot of gaul from the person who pulled out to attack Iraq with false justification and questionable purpose. All of it should be seen by the average American as completely insulting in that they take for granted that people are that naive and gullible. Their arrogance, stubbornness, obnoxious self-serving efforts to manipulate and con are totally offensive and obvious to anyone who can just be rational and objective enough to see through the deceptive self-serving rhetoric. The truth is that they offer the people nothing, only a continuation and even furthering of the policies that constantly benefit the very few and have cost everyone else, including the total middle-class, so greatly. It is literally insulting that they think we can continually be so easily duped.
how many people were at this "rally" .. 27?
why on earth would a couple dozen noisy ignorant rednecks be front page news?
come on MSNBC, report actual events. there are idiot loudmouths protesting planned parenthood or yammering on about how "the end is near" every day in my city. the size of the group is juuuust about the size of the people at this "event". this was a non-event. and you know it.
Stick it Baggers,,,,where the sun don't shine.
Shutdown the EPA? Let me get this straight...the Republican Party said OFFICIALLY, they want to shutdown a part of government that they don't like?
The Environmental Protection Agency? The republicans do not like the EPA, so if it comes down to selective government shutdown, they choose the EPA?
THAT"S NOT THEIR GOD DAMN CHOICE!
Well said!!!
So you think it is ok for the EPA to make rules without consulting the congress? You are gonna love it when the EPA starts charging electric companies which in turn the they will double your electric bill. All I have to say to the EPA is this, "where the hell were you when the Super powers were trying to destroy the world back in the 50s and 60s? A 50 megaton bomb was detonated close to the artic circle by USSR.
thank God for the Tea Party! if not for us, the redistrubitionists and their lackey's who post here would gleefully be ignoring the problem, failing to pass another budget, spending like children with credit cards.
we will clean up your mess, and restore the Republic.
Mitch good post. Harry Reid needs to get off his ass and pass the budget bill.
ha ha the tp becksters have no idea what a republic is. The one's paraded out for our laughs wouldn't know the constitution if you beat them over the head with it. A republican has never cleaned up a mess yet. Unless you go back to 100 years when Republicans were liberal i.e. Lincoln
Are these the same maniacal individuals that depicted President Obama as a nefarious historical figure? Have the government workers responded in kind? After all, by the same extreme extrapolation, Governor Walker's actions could be liked to a despicable Soviet Russian leader. Quite frankly, maybe more could be done if these folks would go to Switzerland or Ireland as did the likes of Cisco and GE. They are so proud of themselves for having not paid any federal taxes. Unfortunately, they claim to be more American than the most hard-working, law-abiding illegal. China would gladly accept these folks and they would pay less taxes! Zài jiàn. Lincoln is rolling in his grave.
its been a while and no recent posts about granny eating dogfood, or the 'chilwren' starving!!!
its been a while and no recent posts about granny eating dogfood, or the 'chilwren' starving!!!
but i thought we were just 'astroturf'
even though responsible for the greatest conservative sweep in @70 years!
the tea party has done some good, but as long as their leaders continue to be crazy eyed Michelle Bachman, quitter Palin and family values man Gingrich, I'll never take them seriously.
How to grow jobs, the economy, remain competitive, and eliminate the deficit:
1. Legislatively remove the anti-trust exemption for insurance, The McCarran-Ferguson Act.
2.. Legislatively restrict the wetlands definition of "navigable waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act.
3. Fund and begin construction of power generation and water supply projects necessary to meet future population and industrial demands.
4. Remove all geographic restrictions on oil and natural gas drilling, and use the power of federal money transfers to the States to prevent States and local governments from interfering with drilling.
5.. Remove environmental restrictions and environmental and social impact requirements for all infrastructure and utility construction for the next 10 years.
6.Cut Federal budget by 10% excluding defense, starting with those duplicative items identified in the 3/1/11 GAO report and Presidents Debt Commission, however, maintain current spending for infrastructure construction, repair and upgrade for the next 5 years. Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act.
7. Reduce corporate tax rates by 50%. Reduce Corporate tax rates by 70% on private utilities and transport companies.
8. Reinstitute significant tax and assistance payments for residential and commercial alternative energy instillations, particularly focusing on residential solar. Use Commerce Clause to force all electrical utilities to be reverse metering.
9. Subsidies the further development of electric and hybrid electric cars. Provide significant tax breaks and incentives for the purchase of same, particularly when combined with the purchase of a residential solar instillation within two years of one another. This is no longer a simple market issue, but one of national security as the time to substitution is longer than the economy can withstand when confronted with a supply side shock
10. Eliminate the Ethanol subsidy for any and all processes using foodstuffs. Redirect monies to nuclear and coal. Streamline regulation of new construction of nuclear power plants and provide incentives for same. Open Yucca Mountain as originally agreed.
11. Eliminate any power of the EPA to regulate Carbon.
12. Use the power of the Federal purse to eviscerate Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005) and Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 535 U.S. 302 (2002),
13. Repeal the Community Reinvestment Act.
14. Hold congressional investigations into the roll of the Community Reinvestment Act, Freddie and Fannie in inflating demand and thus prices resulting in the collapse of the real estate market.
15. Build a wall embedded with sensors and toped with razor wire along both our borders, beginning with the southern one. In the name of national security remove all environmental restrictions and environmental and social impact requirements for the construction of same.
16 Pass legislation that all jurisdictions receiving federal monies of any sort are required to enforce all of the laws of the land, including enforcement of federal immigration laws.
17. Restrict the collective bargaining power of State civil service unions in line with the 1978 Federal Civil Service Reform Act
18. Scrap the tax code and adopt a flat-tax that will build the size of the pie (and thus tax revenues) for everyone instead of the Obama class warfare of trying to redistribute a shrinking one.
19. Revisit New York Times v. Sullivan and remove the "actual malice" requirement to improve the quality, objectivity and accuracy of media reporting,
Re-investigate, with subpoena power this time, 9/11, and the FRAUD that has been America for the last 50 years will be revealed. We can easily fix all of our problems after we have done so little as face the facts.
Cut spending good idea,how about bringing in more jobs and stop sending them overseas more taxes paid less deficit You do realize that all this bull@!$%# is causing an underground economy that will soon start to hurt the country.People have the notion F-em i'll go underground .If you really think about it nobody knows where you get your money unless your dumb enough to tell them.Then what will the genius politicians do